Deutsche Bank AG and Commerzbank AG have filed separate lawsuits against subsidiaries of Algosaibi Group, seeking a total of $218.2 million over alleged failures to meet its financial obligations. The Deutsche Bank lawsuit, filed in New York state court May 13, seeks $74.2 million from The International Banking Corporation BSC over a failed foreign-exchange swap agreement. Commerzbank filed a separate complaint June 3 in London claiming it's owed $144 million by Algosaibi Investment Holdings EC. Ahmad Hamad Algosaibi & Brothers Co., a family-run holding company that's restructuring its debt, said in May it hadn't made payments to creditors of Bahrain-based TIBC “pending a debt restructuring exercise.” The Algosaibi group owes a total of SR34 billion ($9 billion) in syndicated and bilateral loans, two people familiar with the situation said June 26. No one at the Algosaibi group was immediately available to comment. Spokesmen for Frankfurt-based Deutsche Bank, Europe's largest bank, and Commerzbank declined to comment. The Commerzbank suit claims Algosaibi Investment broke a repurchase agreement. Additional details of the complaint would be available in later filings, the court document said. The firm is involved in a series of lawsuits in New York stemming from its failure to repay its debts. Mashreqbank PSC, a United Arab Emirates-based lender, also filed a suit against the Algosaibi group over a failed $75 million currency exchange in May.
